Overcoming her fears
by MyMessyIdeas
Summary: Harry Potter just has the grandest idea to help Hermione get over her fear. She does not agree.


_**A/N:** Hi! This is an entry for round 9 of the houses competionion! If anyone who is reading this is wondering how this got out before ch7 of DatP then pm me and I'll explain. It's a long story._ _ **House:** Ravenclaw_ _ **Category:** Themed_ _ **Prompts:** Pet and Ministry of Magic_ _ **Word count:** 990_

Harry James Potter swears the day he brought his new pet into work is the day he was closest to giving her an aneurysm.

Given their history, was saying something.

"Harry," She started, edging her way towards him, trying to contain her anger, "Why is that bloody thing in my office!"

The man in question blushed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Hermione had half-shrieked out the end of her sentence had just confirmed his fear. Still he smiled at his friend as he pet his scaly friend.

"'Mione," Harry said calmly, "This is Lianna. She is my new pet."

"Harry," She growled through her teeth, "That does not explain why you have a disgusting, slimy _snake_ in my office. How did you even get _it_ in here? The Ministry has a strict no unauthorized pet policy!"

She was completely out of control now and seemed to be close to foaming at the mouth. Her face was a bright red, rivaling only her husband hair as she shook with fear a fury. After the war she had come to hate anything reptile, courtesy of Voldemort's snake Nagini. Just mentioning getting a snake the month before had sent her into a panic. He knew he shouldn't have expected bringing the small pale lilac snake into her office would yield a better reaction.

"It's okay," He tried reassuring her, "She doesn't bite. Jim was even happy to see her!"

"That damn guard," She huffed to herself as she paced in the doorway.

"What's wrong with her?" Lianna hissed, creeping closer to her owner.

"She's afraid of reptiles," Harry responded, using his gift effortlessly, "Don't mind her."

"I'm still here," Hermione shouted, pinning her arms to her sides, "And I want that snake out of my office!"

" It's okay," He said as he picked up the small snake and stepped closer, "She is really nice. I think she can help you over your fear. Look! I think she's actually kinda cute."

"Well good for you!" She yelled, scrambling away from the nearing reptile.

"C'mon," Harry said, coming even closer to the other in the room, "Just let her near you. Say hi! I promise it will help and if it doesn't I'll leave okay?

She sighed as she brought her hand to her forehead and rubbed between her eyebrows. Getting close to that snake wasn't exactly what she wanted but she did want it out of her office. She eyed the stack of papers lying on her desk behind the impending threat knowing they needed to be done. She had the plans for her first Ministry Ball as Minister and the Aurors she needed to talk to and the case file of Ron's she had taken by accident...

"Oh fine!" She huffed as she marched up to the snake, "I'm telling Ginny and Ron you did this!"

"Go ahead," He said, smiling at his plan playing out, "They approved!"

'Liar,' he thought to himself. Both his wife and his other best friend advised against this. Ginny had even threatened to warn her sister-in-law. She did not such thing, however, when he said that if she did he would tell Molly Weasley about the expensive old plate she broke last Christmas.

"Well," She said, reaching out one trembling hand towards the snake, "I'll get payback some way. You'll see."

Lianna seemed to smile at her words and slithered a bit closer to her while in Harry's arms. She hovered her cold hand atop its head and looked nervously at Harry. He tipped his head and nodded slightly as if saying 'Go on. It's okay.' With this, she placed her hand on its head and stroked it lightly, amazed by the feeling of it's scales beneath her hands. Lianna was cool to the touch but she wasn't actually slimey or scratchy.

The beautiful, pale creature nuzzled it's head against her hand, making her yelp quietly. She held her breath for a moment before smiling slightly at the creature. Harry, sensing she was more comfortable, lifted his snake and settled it into Hermione's out-stretched arms. Slowly, Lianna slid up her left arm up and behind her neck untill she was resting on her shoulder.

"Yeah," She whispered, to Harry who had settled into a chair behind him, "She is pretty cute."

With the help of his new pet Harry James Potter's plan had been a success.

"I think we did it." He hissed to her, wearing a smile so big it looked like his face could crack.

"It looks like we did." She hissed, looking at her new friend. "Does she come over to your house often? She is nicer than the red haired one. I really like her."

"The red haired one is my wife, Lianna." Harry chuckled out shaking his head lightly. "But yes, she is around often."

"Oh... an affair then?" Lianna hissed before making an odd sound that Harry could only compare to a laugh.

"What did she say?" Hermione chuckled as she spotted her friends red embarrassed face, "It couldn't have been that bad!"

"She jokingly asked if we were having.." He paused to look her in the eyes wanting to see her reaction, "An affair."

In seconds, her face matched his, making the small reptile repeat it's own version of a guffaw.

Of course this only made their faces redder.

Making the-boy-who-lived-twice's new pet laugh it's reptile laugh even harder.

Harry couldn't help but to start laughing with him only moments later. Then Hermione couldn't help but do the same.

With two snake-loving humansbeside her, Lianna decided she liked being Harry's pet. She sighed and thought to herself, 'This has been a good day.'

And it had.


End file.
